Your Guide to Hosting a Great
Teacher PREVIEW
“
At the Teacher Preview, our rep highlighted many new books, introduced the teachers to the Book Fairs app, and gave awesome booktalks. I believe the Teacher Preview and the excitement it generated led to our increased sales. Teachers were excited to tell their students about all of the great books available.
”
– Ilene Braden, Frontier Elementary School, Clearwater, FL
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Reading Is the Gateway to Success Research tells us when children read widely and often, they develop higher-order thinking skills and also develop a love for reading and learning. Simply having interesting books easily available at home and in the classroom can motivate voluntary reading. You can make more books accessible to more kids with a Teacher Preview! This important event is an exclusive event that gives teachers time to browse the Fair before it opens to shoppers. At the preview, teachers can: ● discover the books, series, and authors that appeal to students ● complete their Classroom Wish Lists so they can build and refresh their classroom libraries with books kids want to read
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Ideas & Best Practices for Your Teacher Preview ● Plan the date and time of your Teacher Preview to coincide with the beginning of your Book Fair—consider it a great Book Fair kick-off! ● Invite all teachers to the preview, including physical education, art, music, and technology teachers. ● Have teachers fill out their Classroom Wish List and Teacher’s Pick shelf-talkers. Use the pre-populated Classroom Wish List donation slips for teachers who miss your preview event. Simply photocopy the appropriate grade level slips and place them in the donation slip pockets. ● Serve refreshments to attract teachers. You can even try theming the food to coincide with your Book Fair theme. Also, ask local grocery stores or your PTO to donate food. 3
● Advertise your preview using the poster provided in your Planning Kit and sending out invitations. ● Invite your principal to be part of the preview. ● Work with your Scholastic Book Fairs rep to choose books you want to preview. Plan which booktalks and podcasts you want to share. (Booktalk Preview Packs are available through the online School Resource Catalog for grades K-3, 4-6, K-6, K-8, and Middle School.) ● Use Scholastic Dollars™ to purchase door prizes for attendees. ● Have teachers bring smartphones or tablets to try the new Book Fairs app.
Real-World Ideas: Teacher Preview
Bags of Books Raffled Off at Preview
Teacher Preview Starts Off Fair Right!
Windemere Park Charter Academy Lansing, MI Their teachers were treated to Mediterranean food before they created their wish lists at the Reading Oasis Teacher Preview. Four tote bags full of books and other treats were then raffled off to teachers who turned in their lists.
J.V. Washam Elementary School Cornelius, NC J.V. Washam made it a point to open their Fair with a Teacher Preview breakfast. They listened to booktalks about the newest Fair titles, filled out Classroom Wish Lists, and chose recommended books.
Teacher Preview and All for Books™ Combo Makes Wishes Come True!
Teachers Preview Fair With Minions and Cupcakes
Ledgeview Elementary School Clarence, NY Ledgeview combined their Teacher Preview and All for Books activities, producing outstanding results! The Teacher Preview was part of a whole preview day, giving teachers plenty of time to complete wish lists. Next, teachers promoted participation in All for Books, sharing how funds donated would to be used to purchase classroom books. All of the teachers’ wish list books were purchased with the loose change collected. Books were wrapped along with a thank-you note and delivered to teachers.
East Paulding Middle School Dallas, GA For their Despicable Me Book Fair, teachers received special Teacher Preview invitations that were spoons decorated to look like minions. Volunteers decorated the Classroom Wish List with paper cupcakes and served delicious cupcakes to teachers as they previewed the Fair at the “Bake My Day” preview event.
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Build and Refresh Classroom Libraries
One of the most important parts of a Teacher Preview is the Classroom Wish List program. The Classroom Wish List program allows your school families to help teachers build and refresh their classroom libraries. Classroom libraries should have a minimum of 300 books each, including fiction and nonfiction, with at least 10% being refreshed each year.1 Classroom libraries provide: ● access to a wider assortment of books ● support for Common Core Standards and other state learning guidelines ● the opportunity to add new informational texts and narrative fiction ● an opportunity to encourage independent reading, which results in stronger academic achievement
Great idea! Place door prize tickets in teachers’ Classroom Wish List donation slip pockets and hold a drawing! 1
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Moss, B., & Young, T.A. (2010). Creating lifelong readers through independent reading. Newark, DE: International Reading Association
Ideas & Best Practices ● Reuse your Classroom Wish List board
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from the prior year. Make it new again by adding themed clip art to the pockets. Place your Classroom Wish List display in a prominent area within your Book Fair space. Set a goal for the number of books your school hopes to get for classroom libraries through the Classroom Wish List program. Update the progress daily on a goal chart. Encourage Teacher Preview attendees to select books from the Fair, write titles on donation slips, and place the slips into the donation slip pockets. Promote the Classroom Wish List in all communications sent to faculty and families.
● Recruit a volunteer to help teachers complete
their donation slips during the preview and ask a volunteer to staff the Classroom Wish List area during your Book Fair Family Event. ● Let volunteers or Student Crew members wheel the Classroom Wish List board around on a mobile cart during your Book Fair Family Event, encouraging shoppers to add books to classroom libraries. ● Use the pre-populated Classroom Wish List Donation slips for teachers who miss your preview event. Simply photocopy the appropriate grade level slips and place them in the donation slip pockets.
Real-World Ideas: Classroom Wish List
Buckets of Books Make Wishes Come True
Classroom Wish List Takes Center Stage
Hoff Elementary School Keenesburg, CO Book Fair organizers attached a ring of book donation slips for each teacher to an extra large bucket. Families could just tear off donation slips and take them to the cashier station to fulfill.
Woodward Academy Johns Creek, GA Woodward recruited a volunteer just for the Classroom Wish List program and set up a table for it that was staffed during all operating hours. Parents fulfilled every wish and spent more than $5,000 on books for the classrooms!
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We Have All the Tools You Need!
Look in the Chairperson’s Toolkit (Book Fair Planner) for the best time to start planning your preview. Also, be sure to look in Fair Files for easy-to-use reproducibles.
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Pre-populated Classroom Wish List Donation Slips For teachers who miss your preview event, simply photocopy the appropriate grade level slips and place them in the donation slip pockets.
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Shelf-Talker Fold Here
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Shelf-Talker © 2014 Scholastic Inc. 11677 • 145803
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Share These Free Resources With Your Teachers Podcasts
Podcasts are less than three minutes each, giving teachers the chance to review and understand books before making recommendations to students. Listen now: scholastic.com/bookfairs/books/podcast
Book Hooks
Even shorter than a booktalk, book hooks give teachers just enough information about books so they can decide how to use them in their classes. The books are divided into clusters based on theme, subject matter, etc. Book hook flipbooks are available in the Toolkit. Keyword: hook
Booktalks
Book Fairs App
The Book Fairs app is a great resource for teachers. By scanning a book, they can learn recommended age, grade, and reading levels. Teachers can also create wish lists to print or email.
A booktalk is a short, engaging, and enthusiastic presentation designed to inspire others to read the same book. Teachers can share booktalks with their students in the classroom all year long. Toolkit keyword: booktalk
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© 2014 Scholastic Inc. 12015 • 146271
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